Ryback On Why Kevin Owens Should Workout, Wrestlers Needing To Take Care Of Their Bodies, More

Wake up! It's reading time! Recently, on Conversation With The Big Guy, former WWE Superstar Ryback talked about the difference between having a great physique and being in cardio shape and whether Kevin Owens should get more physically fit.

In Ryback's view, pro wrestlers should be in peak physical condition to uphold the illusion of the fight and to endure the rigors of working in the squared circle.

"You've got to look at guys like Mick Foley before who has been a WWE [World] Heavyweight Champion. He [has] always had that stamina in the ring. And Foley, he's not a workout guy either and whatnot. So there's between if you… and I firmly believe that everybody should prime their bodies and take care of themselves like athletes that wrestle. That's my personal opinion because the whole point of it is the illusion of being a real fight. And if you were in a real fight, you could not get away with doing that in a real fight, so that's my whole agenda for wanting guys to workout.

"But there's a difference between… not everybody in this day and age with the [WWE] Wellness Policy and drugs, and like, it's one thing if you take drugs and you're in shape, but you might not even be in cardio shape. A lot of guys aren't. But it's one thing to bust your ass and go to workout everyday and you don't have the most ideal body. That happens all the time, but you're an athlete and you take care of yourself and you have pride in that. And then, you go in the ring and you have great conditioning."

Ryback, who has worked with Owens and claimed to like the former WWE Universal Champion as well, said that he thinks Owens should workout and improve his conditioning, not that his craft has suffered on account of 'The Prizefighter' being blown up.

"I'll say this, Kevin, I'm pretty sure he doesn't workout, from what I understand, but don't quote me 100% on that. Maybe he started or he didn't, but he's never… everybody has a different genetic level of where they're at and he, like Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, I always heard he had great cardio and I don't picture him on the StairMaster. There [are] guys that just have a higher threshold of cardio capacity. That does exist. And so I don't agree if Kevin doesn't workout because I think it would just improve his life in general and all that. But I wrestled him in there. I think his conditioning could be better if he was like that, but it [has] never hurt him. You've never watched a match of his and it [has] never hindered his performance. And he knows what he can do and what he can't do, and he knows how to pace himself, which is a skill in itself."

Ryback continued, "and I know from things what Vince has said, [Owens] doesn't have the ideal wrestler's body and whatnot, but you've never been watching him and been like, 'man, he [has] blown the f--k up. He's so out of shape.' You've never [said that], so it's never an issue for professional wrestling."

Listen to the show here. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Conversation With The Big Guy with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.